Monthly Archives: January 2014

Meghalaya’s main opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) must have been shy of raising its voice against its former leader Ampareen Lyngdoh, who has been named in the education scam. The party has finally made a statement demanding her resignation and institution of a new and independent probe into the scam. A top education official accused her of directing his department to tamper with marks of interview for post of primary school teachers. The state government had to cancel appointments of 156 teachers, who were appointed by illegal means. The government act came following a high court order in this regard. Although the education official JD Sangma has been implicated in the scam, the then education minister has gone scot free. The CBI, before which the official deposed and named the minister, did not even bother to question her. It is another issue that as to why the official sinned even if he had the “blessings” of the minister. He must have eyed some “benefits” as well. But what is still shocking is the non-trial of the minister so far. What has prevented the government from taking up a suo motto case on the basis of the CBI report? Instead, it decided to conduct a family (read high level scrutiny committee) trial leading to an obvious clean chit to the minister.

The relative silence of the political parties in this scam is palpable. Does UDP still have some empathy with the then lone woman MLA in the 60-member House? It was Ampareen Lyngdoh, whose shifting of allegiance to the Congress from the UDP, was a major factor of the fall of the then UDP-NCP combine Mehgalaya People’s Alliance government in 2009. The UDP, interestingly, has now referred to an FIR filed by social activist Agnes Kharshiing seeking punishment to Ampareen and other politicians involved in the scam. The state’s biggest regional party, however, is cautious about not ruffling too many feathers before the election. It gave a clean shit to the politicians who have recommended dozens of “own” candidates for appointment as teachers, saying “there is nothing wrong in recommending names”. Nevertheless, no commoner can digest a politician recommending dozens of names sans any favour. One of them had the audacity to recommend as many as 37 names. Though the UDP maintains that it was up to the authorities concerned to take the final call, have we ever seen an official daring to defy a minister or top politician’s recommendation? While justice in the education scam seems to be far away, the solace is that political parties still consider it to be an election issue among other “important” ones.

Bangladesh government’s green signal to its national airlines ‘Biman’ to operate a Dhaka-Guwahati flight is welcome. As per the Biman proposal, the flight will take off on July 1. India-based Jet Airways also has plans to operate on the route. For North-east, a vibrant trade link with Bangladesh is important, especially in view of the problem of influx being faced by the remote part of India. The government of India has understood the root of the problem and has been engaged in empowering its neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan and Nepal. This is the reason why border haats have also been opened in Meghalaya and Tripura.

The main hurdle before operating the flight is its economic viability. The export-import operations between Bangladesh and North-east have to gain pace to make such regular flights feasible. For that to happen, a mindset has to grow on both sides to travel across the border. It still remains a question whether the people of North-east are mentally prepared to do business with Bangladesh. Fraught with the mass influx of Bangladeshi migrants, legal or illegal, the people of the North-east are yet to get convinced by the ‘bridge-the-lost-connection’ slogan. Even the indigenous Muslim populations of the region are skeptic of extending an olive branch to Bangladesh. They are already fighting a battle against being branded as Bangladeshi migrants.

The massive potential of the North-east in tourism sector might lead to considerable traffic of Bangladeshi tourists to this region. However, the there will be no vice versa traffic due to the least known tourism potential of Bangladesh. The Muslim-dominated country comes to news whenever there is a military coup or bloody violence between ethnic tribes or government-opposition forces. The world’s eighth most populous nation is also best known for its poverty and facing the threat of being flooded by sea water due to global warming. However, the best thing Bangladesh can offer for traders of North-east is its huge population, which means market. To tap that market, there should be substantial growth in manufacturing industries, which is still at a nascent stage. In fact, Bangladeshi products have already flooded the market of the region before industries from here could even imagine of large-scale export to the country. The government should focus on creating an environment to prepare this region for trade ties with Bangladesh, as much as it did on improving the communication network. The people’s mindset should also change towards accepting Bangladesh as a friendly neighbour and potential market.

Human trafficking is a global challenge. Most of the victims of this menace land up in sex trade which is still illegal in major parts of the planet. Termed as the oldest trade of human civilization, prostitution is equally rampant in countries where it is banned. In fact, the sufferings of the sex workers are more in these countries. Since it is illegal, those in the ‘trade’ adopt the ways of human trafficking, illegal confinement, bribing law enforcement agencies such as police and even the judiciary. The thriving sex tourism attracts lakhs of tourists to many Asian countries.

In India, there are a number of agencies, both government and non government, working against the menace of human trafficking. But, it appears, all the money spent in such work is going down the drain since sex rackets are growing every day. The recent Delhi incident is an eye opener. Although no media bothered to go into the depth of the real issue, the complaints lodged by local residents to the police speak volume of the sex and drug rackets. Had the Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti not taken the TV crew along with him, there could have been bigger catch. His attempt to make it a media expose boomeranged. The footage he wanted to portray himself as a hero turned him into a villain instead. The hue and cry is despite the Aam Aadmi Party’s repeated contention that racial abuse or vigilantism against alleged prostitutes was not the real issues in the incident. Interestingly, no political party or organisation has so far dared to deny the existence of the racket.

For those, who are still skeptic about the police being involved in sex and drug rackets, the report about existence of an organised red-light area a stone’s throw away from Silchar police station in Assam should say it all. The police station is the biggest in a town, which serves as a centre of four districts and also connects three other states. Former sex workers rescued from the brothels even reportedly alleged that police used to guard the gates of the isolated lane and are regularly paid of their ‘job’. There are three types of women in these places – young girls brought there against their will, older ones who are now accustomed to the trade and have no other place to go and settle, and the pimps and the owners. The actual picture of the illegalities can only be found if a raid can reach the first set of women. They are most often kept in confinement and transported to other places before the raid whenever the racketeers get information in advance from the police on their ‘rolls’.

(Published as editorial in The Meghalaya Guardian on January 25, 2014)

It has been well over a month since a five-year-old boy of Tura suffered a heavy electric shock causing permanent disability. Both his hands will have to be amputated. The boy Chidam Marak, son of a daily wage earner, now needs lakhs of rupees to go through the entire rehabilitation process. Besides, he is facing a dark future for himself. For the parents, it will be foolish to hope that their son will grow up one day and reduce their sufferings. He might, but such chances are very rare. Most of the disabled in our country land up running from pillar to post in government departments seeking financial aid and jobs on sympathetic grounds. Moreover, he will have to face humiliation and unwelcome sympathy from the society throughout his life. All these adversities are looming large over the boy and his family.

What was the five-year old’s fault? Not knowing that an electric transformer is a dangerous thing to be chosen as a place to relieve oneself? Are the parents guilty of not teaching him about the danger of an unfenced transformer? No accountability has been fixed on the matter so far. In fact, there is no move to file an FIR from the administration side. The family might be too naive to seek justice for their son. Poor people in this country take it for granted everything that goes wrong with them, even if it was not their fault at all. How many times have we heard of an official, contractor or minister concerned being punished for any road accident that occurs due to the fault of bridges, roads etc. People dying and being injured after falling into manholes is a regular phenomenon in Indian cities especially during rainy seasons. The particular manhole gets a cover immediately, and that’s all. There were instances of fatal mishaps when people come into contact with live wires snapped in storms. Do we hear about fixing of accountability for such mishaps?

It is a good gesture by the West Garo Hills district administration to offer an interim relief of Rs 50,000 for the crippled boy. Many individuals have also come forward to financially help the boy in his rehabilitation. Chief minister Mukul Sangma too asked the deputy commissioner to take steps to punish the guilty. But, would not it have been more appreciable if he had directly taken up the matter with the MeECL or the police higher-ups and ensure punishment for the guilty for crippling a boy for life?

An alleged sex worker waiting for ‘customers’ at the gate of the lane near Silchar Sadar police station.

Decades-old red-light area a stone’s throw away from police station

An organised red-light area with around 15 brothels just around 200 metres away from Silchar Sadar police station in Assam! This is all but true, and the more shameful truth is that policemen are the “guardians” of these brothels!

Two former sex workers from Shillong – one escaped and the other rescued from these brothels in 2012 – led a team of Meghalaya and Assam police recently to rescue one more woman, who spend five years there after being lured away by a pimp for a job.

“All the houses, around 14-15, in the lane run the dhanda (prostitution),” Lila (name changed), who ran away from there last year, told The Meghalaya Guardian.

“It’s like a jail. During my two years of stay, I was hardly allowed to come out of it. Once in a blue moon we were allowed to go for shopping but there would be people around us.

“We cannot even ask for police help since we know they are regularly paid by our owners,” Lila said.

Sources in Meghalaya police aware of the existence of the red-light area also expressed surprise, saying, “It is very strange that such a set up exists just near the police station. We can vouch that such things cannot exist even for an hour in Shillong.”

The raid, conducted in the wee hours of November 20 on the basis of an FIR filed by Lila in Shillong that there were women from Meghalaya held captive in the brothels, was allegedly delayed by the Assam police giving enough time for the trafficking racket to hide the girls.

“According to the initial plan made with Assam CID, the joint police team from Shillong and Guwahati was supposed to make a surprise raid without informing the local police. But the police team from Guwahati led us to the Silchar Sadar police station where we had to wait for hours,” said Agnes Kharshiing, president of Civil Society Women’s Organisation (CSWO).

Kharshiing was accompanying the Meghalaya police team since she was involved in the rescue of the two girls last year from the same brothel.

“We failed to understand the reason behind taking us to the same police station, against which the girls gave statements,” Kharshiing said.

“The entrance was just 200 metres away and there were shortcuts too to allow any policeman of the police station to alert the brothel owners,” she added.

“The Meghalaya police team was helpless in front of the Assam police since it was their area,” Lila, who now wants to be a whistleblower against women trafficking, said.

Lila and Evelyn (name changed), both from Shillong, made no hesitation in revealing that the Assam police personnel were utterly apathetic towards conducting the raid.

“One senior policeman was even asking for cigarette from the No. 2 brothel owner, Suku Debnath, during the raid,” Lila said.

Though police rescued one woman and her child from Debnath’s brothel, the latter was not arrested.

“Suku Debnath used to claim before us that she pays Rs 30,000 to the police station every month insisting us to ‘work’ day and night,” Lila, who spent around five years before being rescued in 2012, alleged.

Meanwhile, sources in the Assam police from Guwahati also admitted existence of the organised red-light area near the Silchar Sadar police station.

The sources also said the brothels have been running at the same place for decades.

In fact, Evelyn, who was rescued after Lila’s escape, was caught by policemen on guard at the gate of the lane one midnight when she was trying to escape along with a sympathetic ‘customer’.

“The policemen took money from the person, who was from Jowai, and asked him to leave and brought me to the police station. I was taken back to the No. 14 brothel by my owner Gita the next morning. She gave money to the cops in front of me and scolded me that she had to pay for my ‘fault’,” Evelyn said.

Both Evelyn and Lila are now staying in the same house with Lila’s family and doing part time jobs of housekeeping in Shillong.

(Published in The Meghalaya Guardian as lead story on January 24, 2014)

Congress had the largest gain of Purno Sangma’s lost ground in Garo Hills during last assembly elections. The Garo veteran’s nascent NPP is still an unknown name in many corners of the state. The party’s recent success in Rajasthan assembly elections might not have reached remote villages which matter most when it comes to votes. NPP’s worries can be gauged well by the fact that the party is yet to decide on sitting MP Agatha Sangma’s candidature for the Tura seat. Decision of the party to seek ‘people’s views’ on the Tura candidate might appear as a response to the growing clamour against dynasty rule, but it also reveals the party’s worry over Agatha’s chances this time. The people might remember that their views were not sought when the former Lok Sabha Speaker decided to make it an all-family affair by pushing his three children to the state assembly and parliament.

Fortune of the Sangma brigade, now known as NPP, had a u-turn since he decided to quit the NCP and run for the President in 2012. He was able to convince 11 of the 13 NCP legislators to fight the 2013 elections under the NPP banner, but that was not enough as only two including his son James managed to make it to the 60-member House. The blow dealt to the political ambition of the Sangma family in the last election was so deep that Congress this time is overconfident of finally wresting the Purno bastion. Congress’s enthusiasm is palpable in the number of ticket aspirants for the Tura seat.

Theoretically, people of Meghalaya should welcome NPP for its contention that it is a party for the welfare of the indigenous tribals of the country. But there seems to be a few factors coming in the way for NPP in getting closer to the people under the new brand. The party’s national tag is far from being acceptable unlike that of Congress, BJP and even NCP. And the fact that the party was born out of a personal ambition of Purno Sangma to become the country’s President would continue to give weapons to the rivals. Continuous silence of Conrad Sangma, the vocal leader of opposition in the last assembly, on public issues also might be another major factor for the party’s failure in gaining the lost ground. Under the circumstances, retaining the Tura seat would be a great achievement for the Sangma brigade.

(Published as editorial in The Meghalaya Guardian on January 18, 2014)

The proposed peace pact for Garo Hills-based militant outfits is heading towards an utter confusion. It proposes, as chief minister Mukul Sangma said, to all militant groups to come under the oldest group ANVC, which had signed the ceasefire pact with the government in 2004. Although the ANVC-B leader Rimpu Marak already gave his word to go by the proposal, there is division in the group regarding the method of joining the mainstream. The disgruntled elements in ANVC-B allege that the outfit is sidelined by the government. Its frustration can be gauged by the number of press releases issued by the outfit to the media in the past few months. The group, however, is the same which tried its best to rope in the GNLA into the fold. The latter did not give any word on coming overground so far although expressed willingness for talks with the government. But given its strength, both cadres and arms, the GNLA now led by hardliner Sohan D Shira is unlikely to join a peace process where it would have to play a subsidiary role. At this moment, it is not sure that whether dreaded groups like GNLA and UALA will join the peace pact to be signed within next six months. It’s very unclear whether the government would be able to justify its decision of postponing the elections to the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council. Signing an agreement with ANVC only will just create an army of former militants catering to the needs of a certain political class.

There is also a need for looking at the overall worth of such peace packages. Neighbouring Assam is in relative peace, a ‘success’ of Tarun Gogoi-led government. Is it because that top ULFA and NDFB leaders have either agreed to join or joined the peace process which Gogoi government is given credit for? Or is it the fact that the top leaders are either behind bars or on bail but are handicapped by law and security agencies. The ULFA leaders are anyway too old to go back the jungle to join the one and only Paresh Baruah, who is still holding the fort.

Capturing militant leaders alive and making them join the ‘peace process’ every time is nothing but milking the ‘insurgency cow’. Excluding the common man, all concerned including politicians and officials engaged in peace ‘package’ besides the militants, many of whom are murderers, kidnappers and extortionists, are the individual beneficiaries. Such hollow are the so-called peace initiatives that the SULFA (surrendered ULFA) militants are still feared in Assam, fulfilling their purpose in business yet being free men having no accountability of their past crimes. The same money can be utilised for development work such as building rural roads and markets to give farmers their dues and providing vocational trainings to rural youth, thereby addressing the rebel groups’ concern too in a wider perspective.

(Published as editorial in The Meghalaya Guardian on January 16, 2014)

The tsunami of ‘aam aadmi’ is gradually but surely catching the imagination of the people of Northeast. Many parts of the rest of the nation especially urban areas have already come under its grip, according to pre-poll surveys. While anti-corruption crusaders elsewhere joined the bandwagon by coming under the AAP banner, those in the Northeast are yet to make up their mind. It is for sure that once they identify themselves with India’s newest “hope”, their fans would swell in numbers. Then what is preventing them? They value the identity of their respective organisations more than the idea of fighting an uncertain battle.

The region has no dearth of RTI crusaders – Assam’s Akhil Gogoi and Meghalaya’s Michael Syiem and Agnes Kharshiing made headlines for unearthing scams. However, the battle against corruption has not gained much ground in the region plagued by issues of ethnic identity, demographic change, territorial integrity etc. There is hardly any clear solution to such issues, most of which are creation of the vested interests. The silence of influential student organisations on corruption issues, however, does not mean that the region is less affected by the virus (of corruption). Rather, their frequent outcry on identity issues provides a canopy over the rampant corruption, albeit unintentionally. Governments would prefer fighting sensitive issues concerning race and religion where there are always conflicting views rather than taking questions on governance. Once these organisations start taking on the ruling class on issues of corruption and poverty, there will be no escape route left for those in power. However, the question remains as to who will bell the cat? Many of the so-called civil society groups are financially backed by either the business or the political class. Their mentors remain untouched even if they hit the streets with demands such as inner line permit (ILP), fencing along Indo-Bangla border and ‘Nagalim’. These issues are disputed and there is no direct solution. On the other hand, the mentors would be hurt most if the groups divulge any corrupt practices involving them.

In absence of the backing of “influential” groups, it has been a difficult task for anti-corruption activists of the north-eastern region to take cases of irregularities to the logical end. Akhil Gogoi divulged the scam of farmers’ land being grabbed by industrialists at throwaway prices in the name of development. In Meghalaya, Michael Syiem’s MRTIM exposed scams related to supply of CGI sheets and subsidy doled out to industries while Agnes Kharshiing unearthed a scam in appointment of teachers involving the then education minister Ampareen Lyngdoh. All these cases have, however, have failed to reach any logical end. There have been actions against the direct “beneficiaries” of the scams, but no action could be taken against any politician without whose green signal such scams are unimaginable.

(Published as editorial in The Meghalaya Guardian on January 11, 2014)

The extension of terms of the three autonomous district councils (ADCs) is nothing but sheer embarrassment for the Meghalaya government. The state is not going to any apparent major crisis warranting such a move. The government worry for Garo Hills is insurgency, which it failed to visualise and act accordingly. The terms of all the three ADCs are supposed to end on February 17.

In clear terms, there is apprehension of violence in Garo Hills if the polls are held without paving way for political space for militant groups, which are under ceasefire agreement. Since the country’s Constitution allows people to contest elections even from inside the jail, there should not be any skepticism about allowing them to vie for the reins of power. But, the government has to consider the fact that the council is to take care of the interest of the common people more than the small section of militants, although they are powerful and fearful.

Interest of the rebels overpowering the council’s affairs is not a healthy sign in a democracy. The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) where the reins of power are held by former militants is a good example of how wrong the government was to give complete space to them. Although there are reports of development activities peace is still a far cry in the BTC-ruled districts. The move to rope in militants, many of whom are allegedly petty criminals, to the political circle may not ensure lasting peace in the region. However, it is still a question whether the government would be able to clinch the deal without any hiccups within these six months. The chief minister already admitted that his government was yet to reply to a couple of additional queries from the Centre on the peace pact.

The deferment of the elections to the ADCs in Khasi Hills and Janitia Hills is another instance of inefficiency of the authorities concerned to address the controversy over delimitation. Despite protests from several groups and traditional bodies, there had been no clear clarification from the government side to the aggrieved parties. The matter is now caught in a legal entangle with some groups already moving the high court. Chief minister Mukul Sangma might sound confident in contesting the claim and holding the elections within February 17, but a stay by high court would cause him further embarrassment.

(Published as editorial in The Meghalaya Guardian on January 10, 2014)

There has been a hue and cry over ‘peace settlement’ with insurgent outfits in Garo Hills. Rival rebel groups are fighting over their share of the yet-to-be delivered ‘package’ for all they did for the society so far! Some other ‘principled’ rebels, however, are not interested in the package and carrying on with their ‘mission’ (of extortion, killing and kidnapping). The peace packages for rebel groups in the Northeast have surely helped scale down violence in many regions. But here lies the question as to how long the taxpayers’ money be spent for rewarding rebels, who are criminals as per the law, for promising to be good guys in future. Has the government asked itself this very question? It’s high time to do it.

The militants, although ‘powerful’, are a very small faction of the society. None of them admit that they took up arms to earn money. Some want sovereignty for their state while others demand autonomy, greater autonomy, reservation and so on. The public supports them due to the so-called demand and also out of fear. Since their demand is related to the public and not themselves, the government should ask the public as to what should be done with them. Should they be eliminated by counter-insurgency operations or tried for the crimes they committed as per law or be rewarded with peace package – everything should be opened in the public domain. If the government can conduct public hearings before going ahead with any project, there is no reason for not facilitating such a platform to elicit opinions on such sensitive and vital issues. Since the rebels proclaim to have been acting on public interest or rather interest of the community, the latter should be given the opportunity to decide on their fate as well.

The role of political parties, who are very prompt in blaming each other for deterioration of law and order, are surprisingly not seen making any effort to resolve conflicts at the grassroots. There is rarely any instance of any party holding a public meeting to discuss the issue of insurgency. The same parties lose no time in catching in on identity issues like the recent crisis over the demand for inner line permit (ILP) in Meghalaya. It needs a lot of courage to speak the truth about militancy while views in favour of identity issues bear no risk and rather rewarding (in terms of votes). The time is ripe for political parties including those in the government to come out of their traditional closet and stop politicising the issue of insurgency. Let public be the ultimate judge.